Parking
Arthog Car Park near the Mawddach Trail. Use designated spaces and do not block field or residential entrances.
Overview
About Rhaeadrau Arthog and Llynnau Cregennan
Why go
- Waterfall, lakes and estuary in one varied loop
- A varied route with a memorable Mawddach Trail finish
Heads up
- Busy-road crossings and roadside sections
- Rough ground, gates and stiles
The defining quality is variety: ancient broadleaved woodland at Abergwynant, the quiet hilltop Cregennan lakes, and the Mawddach Estuary in one loop. The authority highlights it for nature and photography, and the mix of waterfall, woodland, lakes, farmland and estuary gives you very different subjects across a single walk.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy it is worth doingMap & elevation
The route
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Eryri Tour Guide
Your drive to Rhaeadrau Arthog and Llynnau Cregennan, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Eryri National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Arthog and Llynnau Cregennan0:00 / 0:26
“You're approaching Arthog, the start of a loop that brings together a waterfall, quiet hilltop lakes, ancient woods and the Mawddach estuary.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Eryri Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Bridge's Hidden Enemy
- Two Homes on the Hills
- Before the Bridge, a Ferry
- Sea Mud and Volcanic Ash at Cregennan
- 298 audio storiesacross Eryri’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grey Heron, Tawny Owl, Common Raven, and 9 more
- Works offlinemaps, 120 trails, 82 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Rhaeadrau Arthog and Llynnau Cregennan
The route in shortA circular route of 13.7 km (about 8.
A circular route of 13.7 km (about 8.5 miles), starting and finishing at Arthog Car Park near the Mawddach Trail. Allow around 4 hours. It is graded moderate, and the authority describes it as not popular. Distances here follow the total-loop convention, so the figure covers the whole circuit back to the car park.
How it unfoldsFrom the car park there is about 100 m of road to a public footpath, then an embankment and…
From the car park there is about 100 m of road to a public footpath, then an embankment and field towards St Catherine's Church. A short roadside section and crossing of the A493 leads into a wooded climb beside the river, past a waterfall and a large old beech, then a river-side stretch and a clapper bridge. Farm track and gates take you by a ruin and boundary wall to a road climb and the view down to Llynnau Cregennan.
After a stile there is rough heathland near Pared y Cefn-hir, then fields and farm track down to a lane and chapel remains, woodland and road near King's Youth Hostel, another A493 crossing towards Abergwynant Farm, a bridge, and the Afon Gwynant and Abergwynant woods. The final section is roughly 4.5 km along the Mawddach Trail back to the start.
Difficulty and terrainModerate, with a long steady climb from near sea level up to the Cregennan area and some steep…
Moderate, with a long steady climb from near sea level up to the Cregennan area and some steep or unsurfaced sections. Expect:
Boots and waterproof layers are essential.
- Steep and unsurfaced paths in open countryside
- Gates and stiles
- Rough heathland near Pared y Cefn-hir
- Farm tracks, woodland paths and road walking
Access, parking and safetyPark at Arthog Car Park near the Mawddach Trail.
Park at Arthog Car Park near the Mawddach Trail. Use designated parking only and do not block field or residential entrances. The route crosses the A493 twice and includes a roadside section; the official directions warn that this road can be busy, so take real care crossing.
DogsDogs are allowed on the public footpaths and open-access land here.
Dogs are allowed on the public footpaths and open-access land here. Keep them under close control, use a short lead near livestock or wildlife, and on open-access land use a lead no longer than 2 m from 1 March to 31 July.
Things to weigh upThis is a longer day than it may look on the map, with route-finding across fields, heathland…
This is a longer day than it may look on the map, with route-finding across fields, heathland and farm tracks, plus the road sections. If you want a shorter, more concentrated lake-and-view circuit, the Precipice Walk near Dolgellau covers that ground in less distance; this loop trades that for length and variety.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Eryri
77 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
17 sightingsTawny OwlMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
32 sightingsCommon RavenMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
21 sightingsGreat Spotted WoodpeckerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
18 sightingsEuropean RabbitMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
161 sightingsViviparous LizardMost seen around 10 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Eryri. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
